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Indoor Sports Monthly – May 2017

Volume 6, Issue 8

Real sports flooring is the key to a successful gymnasium project. No other furnishing has the same impact on safety, comfort, and visual appeal. By selecting a surface that is designed and tested for sports, you can start your athletic facility off on the right foot.

Impact Acoustics

When it comes to flooring in the gymnasium, impact acoustics is an important factor to consider. Unlike the ambient acoustics of a room, impact acoustics relate to the sound generated from footfall, ball bounce, and other collisions with the surface. Reducing impact noise can make a significant difference in a team’s ability to communicate with each other or a teacher’s ability to give instructions to a large PE class. For example, Tarkett Sports’ Omnisports™ reduces in-room impact noise by around 61-62 dB. To learn more about impact acoustics and athletic flooring, visit tarkettsportsindoor.com.

No Shortcuts to a Great Athletic Space

As an architect, you know the importance of getting details from the beginning. Making changes later can be inconvenient and costly, especially in construction. That principle holds true for gymnasium flooring. For example, when the Whitfield County Recreation Department built a gym year ago, VCT was used in place of a true athletic surface. VCT has none of the sports properties defined in ASTM F2772 like shock absorption or proper surface friction. As a result, the basketball court was uncomfortable, unappealing, and unforgiving. The gym became a place that players and coaches avoided. If a proper athletic floor had been specified before construction, the situation might have been very different. After removing the VCT and installing Omnisports™, the Whitfield County Recreation Department now has a gym that is in high demand. Listen to Director Brian Chastain explain the impact of a real sports floor.

Is All That Glue Really Necessary?

There is no need to specify an athletic surface for youth sports, just adults rights? False. Regardless of age, athletes need the sports properties outlined in ASTM F2772 to compete safely and comfortably. Although adult players engage the floor differently than lighter young players, everyone requires proper surface friction, adequate ball bounce, shock absorption, and appropriate vertical deformation. Surfaces like carpet, concrete, or VCT do not provide these essential characteristics and should not be specified regardless of the intended users’ age. Performance properties aside, young athletes also need to play on a true athletic surface to provide consistency when they progress to higher levels of competition. To learn more about the essential properties of sports flooring, visit tarkettsportsindoor.com or contact a Tarkett Sports representative to set up an AIA Lunch & Learn course.

Find a Representative

Tarkett Sports has the knowledge and expertise to make your sports facility a success. Find a regional representative to get started.